Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 72,867 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 479,690 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 72,867 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.47% of MFA Financial worth $4,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth $407,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 919,603 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,371,000 after acquiring an additional 155,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MFA shares. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.70.

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MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 729,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 809,404. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 2.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.23. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.36 and a 52-week high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. Research analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.27%. This is a boost from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 177.78%.

About MFA Financial

MFA Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust in the United States. It invests in residential mortgage securities, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities, agency MBS, and credit risk transfer securities; residential whole loans, including purchased performing loans, purchased credit deteriorated, and non-performing loans; and mortgage servicing rights related assets.